Moi University students on Thursday evening took to the streets to protest the decision by the university administration to close the institution indefinitely following unrest by students and lecturers.
The students, while protesting outside the university premises, expressed frustration over Vice Chancellor Isaac Kosgey’s move to close the institution noting that the decision threatened their right to education.
During the protests, the students called for the immediate resignation of the VC whom they accused of poor management of the school including failing to heed the grievances raised by the school workers.
The learners went ahead to light a bonfire outside the vicinity of the institution as they chanted the Vice Chancellor’s name in demand for his dismissal. “The Vice-Chancellor must go, he must go,” the students were heard shouting.
A photo of the Moi University gate. PHOTO/ShangaziKE
In the footage obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the rowdy protesters were recorded marching through a town near Eldoret city, temporarily disrupting normalcy.
The protests by the university students followed hours after the institution’s Vice Chancellor closed its Eldoret campus indefinitely over student unrest due to industrial action by the institution’s lecturers. In a statement, the school administration directed all students to leave the school premises with immediate effect.
“The University Senate in a Special meeting held today Thursday, October 3, 2024, resolved to suspend the teaching and learning activities of the 1st Semester 2024/2025 Academic Year as a consequence of the industrial action of staff and subsequent student unease,” read part of the notice.
The university also asked international students to contact the Dean of Students for further directions stating that the re-opening dates would be communicated at a later date.
Vice Chancellor Kosgey’s decision to close the institution followed a week-long demonstration by school workers including lecturers who protested over poor working conditions.
On Wednesday, October 2, lecturers and non-teaching staff staged demonstrations in Edoret demanding payment of delayed salaries and implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA).
While protesting in rage, the workers criticised the institution’s management for exploiting them through third-party deductions from workers’ payslips which they claimed did not reflect in their overall balances.
Meanwhile, the demonstrations by Moi Univerity students add to the number of institutions that have experienced unrest in recent weeks after students resorted to protesting over several grievances.
The administration block at Moi University in Eldoret
Photo
Moi University
